Use Online Modules and Exercises in Classes
MERLOT - large collection of multimedia modules; searchable by discipline
Connexions - large selection of shareable, collaboratively developed scholarly content reusable under Creative Commons licensing
TeacherTube - a growing selection of videos mostly geared toward K-12, but includes others as well
Tutorom - tutorials created by users related to topics including academics, technology, and social interests
FutureLab - contains several modules and interactive presentations, though mostly geared towards K-12. A good place to see what future students expect.
Online modules (often called "learning objects") typically bring together course materials in a presentation and/or interactive environment where students can learn a specific set of skills (as with foreign language or math tutorials) or explore a subject (as with an interactive website on a historical topic).
Strategies
Using Pre-Created Modules
Several resources exist for finding modules that other faculty, schools and/or organizations have developed and uploaded for use. The sidebar contains links to several of these online module "repositories". Once you've located a useful module, implementation of the module may be as simple as linking it to your Blackboard course, or providing students with the module's URL. Following are some issues/questions to consider when using pre-created modules:
- Does the module represent the concept adequately?
- What additional information will students need? The module may be so specific, that it only serves as an introduction or summary of a particular concept.
- What technological issues may students encounter? For example, if the module uses Adobe Flash, students may need to download the Flash plug-in to access the module.
- How will you assess the students' use of the module? Most pre-created modules do not involve an output of their own to verify that the student used the module. Informal or formal assessments may need to be created.
Designing and Creating Modules
CIT can assist in the design and creation of modules when pre-exiting modules and resources fail to meet your teaching goals. Due to the advanced technical skills often required to create most modules, you will probably want to contract out at least some of the work. CIT can help providing student assistance, or by recommending professional programmers and/or designers. The general process for creating a module involves the following:
- Contact CIT and arrange a meeting with a consultant
- Organize and prepare the materials you will include in the module
- Along with CIT, identify resources necessary to produce the module
- Meet with developers throughout the production process
- Work with CIT to effectively implement and evaluate the finished module
Examples
Interactive Profile of a Reuleaux Model, Cornell University
Part of Cornell's Digital Library of Kinematics, this interactive Flash module allows you to explore models designed by German engineering professor Franz Reuleaux
Visual Thesaurus
Type in a word in the "Look it up" search box on the left to see a chart of word relationships.
Pieces of Eden Yale Center for British Art
Click on the "Exhibition" link to see an example of Quicktime3D used for a virtual museum tour.
The Beating Heart, Center for Knowledge Management, The Ohio State
University College of Medicine & Public Health
A Flash-based learning module that uses interactivity and animation to familiarize users with heart anatomy.
Explore Mars Now
Interactivity and animation highlight this module about a proposed working habitat on Mars and the tools required for planetary exploration.
Stock Market Experiment, Yale University
An online experiment that students can use to explore concepts of Fed policy and its impact on the stock market.
Gender Testing of Female Athletes, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Module teaches concepts about genetics and gender using text, graphics and a quiz for self-assessment; developed in Flash.
Psycho Studio
This module allows students to create their own edited version of the famous "shower scene" in Alfred Hitchcock's film "Psycho".
Interactive Archives
Multimedia stories from Durham's newspaper, The Herald-Sun.
Instructables
Contains step-by-step instructions for accomplishing a variety of everyday (or specialized) tasks. A good example of using simple photos, links and text to create useful, quick modules.
Tools
Adobe provides several products that can aid in the development of online modules, including:
- Acrobat can be used to create interactive forms, documents, and can accept embedded media (like video)
- Authorware can be used to create interactive multimedia modules, especially for e-learning related projects
- Captivate can be used to create interactive modules based on screen captures and presentations
- Flash can be used to create and program advanced interactive environments as well as web animation(s)
Programming packages for creating advanced web applications also exist, including:
- Ruby on Rails - a standard Web 2.0 development framework
- OpenLazlo - an open source development platform that generates Flash or DHTML output
